


Inflated Ego and Heightened Anxiety

by DramaticGarbage



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, panic mention, this story happened because the title is a pun, virgil isn't having a great time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 07:46:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16929267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DramaticGarbage/pseuds/DramaticGarbage
Summary: Roman and Patton can tell when Thomas are using their functions... But what about Virgil?





	Inflated Ego and Heightened Anxiety

Virgil awoke one morning feeling strangely. This wasn’t exceptionally odd for him, he never really knew what to expect anymore. One day he was Anxiety, someone the other sides sort of feared and possibly hated. The next he was Virgil, someone who the others were now insisting was “part of the family.” But today he felt a different kind of strange, maybe it was best he go back to sleep.

Patton busied himself with breakfast while Logan drank his coffee and read his newspaper. The other two hadn’t appeared yet for the day, so they enjoyed the quiet in their own way. Suddenly, Roman appeared through the door in what felt like an explosion. 

“ _Good morning my compatriots! Today is already shaping up to be a spectacular one!_ ” His voice boomed, sounding even more regal than usual. 

“Ah, it appears Thomas is having a creative streak this morning.” Logan said flatly, not looking up from his newspaper. Roman began to flex slightly, his appearance much more robust and intense than usual. It was true, the sides had found, that when Thomas was feeling particularly strongly in one way or another, it would cause an effect on them. This was mostly apparent in Roman and Patton, but Logan also felt it at times. If he had to hypothesize, it must have been because he wasn’t a feeling.

“Well that’s just great, Kiddo! You ready for some pancakes?” Patton called from the kitchen. Roman strolled past the still reading Logan and sauntered up next to Patton. Roman smiled even wider when he looked and noticed he was even taller than usual. He prided himself on being the tallest, (even though he was maybe a half an inch taller than Logan) as he stood approximately two inches taller than Patton on a regular day.

A slight chill filled the air which caused everyone to look toward the stairs, Virgil kept his room cooler than the rest of house so they realized he must be coming down for breakfast. Things had definitely been better since they all opened up a bit and Virgil had told the others his name, but things were definitely still a learning process for all them. He trudged down the stairs, in his signature hoodie but still wearing baggy pajama pants. 

“Good Morning Virgil!” Called the ever cheery Patton, beckoning the purple and black figure to come grab a plate. 

“Mornin’.” He replied, sleepily. It seems he had only just awoken. In his sleepy state he nearly walked directly into Roman, who seemed to be trying to get Virgil to notice his enhanced state. 

“ _Whoa whoa there, Sleeping in with Sirens._ ” Roman held a hand out and gently held Virgil by the shoulder, causing him to look up. A small “whoa” escaped Virgil’s lips before he had the chance to stop it. “ _Haha! Notice anything different about me?_ ” He bellowed, flexing once more at the groggy figure before him. 

“Hm… Your steroid use is finally catching up with you?” He smirked. Logan hid a small chuckle behind a cough as he entered in behind Virgil. 

“Virgil, are you aware of the physical changes that seem to occur when Thomas is utilizing one of our core functions? This is Roman’s usual change. He seems to get… larger?” Logan explained, pausing slightly on what word to use. Virgil’s eyes widened slightly, but he ducked his head a bit hiding his look of surprise and realization.

 “Hey it makes sense, they don’t call it an “inflated ego” for nothing.” He joked once more, to the continued dismay of Roman.

  
“Oh oh! When Thomas is feeling really happy I start to glow light green! And other emotions are other colors!” Patton happily chimed in. 

“Thats cool, Pat.” Virgil calmly stated as he walked to the table with his plate. They all made their way to the table, Roman still pouting slightly. 

“Yes, its quite a sight to be honest. And I.. well I can internally feel a spurt of intellectual growth, but it doesn’t seem to be as physical with me. Seeing as I am not a “feeling” like these two.. I suppose that makes sense.” Logan explained. Virgil nodded. 

“What about you Virgil? Have you ever felt anything like that?” Patton asked happily while Roman and Logan exchanged concerned glances. 

“Well.. Uh… I… Nevermind.” He seemed to slink even deeper into his hoodie. He quickly finished his breakfast and after dropping his plate into the sink, he immediately sunk through the floor and back to his room.

After a brief discussion, they decided it best to leave Virgil alone for a while. Roman slowly came back down to size, Thomas apparently ending his creative streak to go hang out with some friends. It was getting closer to dinner time when they noticed Thomas seemed to be in a bad mood. It seemed that he and his friends had done a bit of brainstorming together and they were having some creative differences. Patton suddenly had a tinge of red surrounding him and they realized something was up. As he drove home the red seemed to turn to a sad blue before suddenly Patton stopped glowing entirely.

 “Uh oh…” he suddenly started, startling Logan and Roman. 

“What wrong, padre?” Roman asked, concerned.

“Thomas’s mood… is… not in my territory any more.” He said, concerned. In unison they all looked to Virgil’s spot on the stairs. They all popped up and rushed up to Virgil’s bedroom door. Knocking tentatively, Patton called “Hey Kiddo? You alright in there? Wanna.. come out?” He tried to keep the fear from his voice. 

“ **N** -“ they heard before the deep rumbling voice stopped itself. The three were extra concerned now, Virgil’s voice only began to shadow itself when Thomas was in a heightened state of anxiety. 

“Virgil? Please open the door, let us help you.” Roman stated, worried. It was a few moments before a piece of paper was shoved under the door. _GO AWAY_ , scrawled in hurried writing. 

“Virgil, please. Allow us to help. We care about you and want to help.” Logan stated, ignoring the note. They heard the door click slightly and Logan reached out for the handle. Gently turning it, he pushed it open and they saw Virgil huddled in a small ball, his back to them. It looked like he was crouched down, still trying to sink into his hoodie. 

“Virgil? Please, we are here for you.” Roman called out to him, the three of them still huddled in the hallway. 

“ **GO. YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THIS.** ” He stated as quietly as he could. Logan suddenly understood. 

“Virgil… What happens to you when Thomas has heightened anxiety?”

Virgil rocked forward on his feet, and began to slowly stand. He was enormously tall, towering at least a foot over all of them. His limbs looked gaunt and skinny. But still, he wouldn’t face them. 

“ **LAST**   **CHANCE**.” 

“We’re not going anywhere.” Roman assured him. He turned to face them. His eye shadow was the deepest black they’ve ever seen, not just under his eyes but fully around them this time. His cheeks were sunken and eyes looked huge. They had a wild expression and his pupils were so large his eyes looked nearly completely black. 

“ **YOU WANTED TO KNOW, HERE YOU GO. NOW LEAVE! NONE OF YOU WILL WANT TO BE AROUND ME LIKE THIS!** ” He yelled. Patton was visibly shaken by Virgil’s appearance but the last thing he was going to do was make Virgil be alone like this.

Patton rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Virgil. His head was only up to the anxious side’s chest, but he hugged him with all he had no matter the size difference. Roman and Logan only hesitated a moment before joining Patton. 

“I’m so sorry Virgil, please don’t feel like you have to be alone. Please come out of here. Please.” Patton was nearly bawling.

 “No matter what happens, you have us Virgil. We are always here for you.” Logan said quietly. 

“Virgil… You are important to us. Let us be there for you.” Roman added. It took a while, but with their kind words and Virgil’s overall guard dropping due to confusion, they slowly helped Virgil to the common room and had him sitting on the couch with them. They gently surrounded him and made sure he was comfortable. With their kindness and support, he eventually fell asleep, all of them holding him. Over the course of his nap they slowly exchanged glances, silently agreeing to make sure he knew they would also be there for him no matter how frightening he could be at times as they watched him go back to normal. It wasn’t his fault and they understood that.

He awoke sometime later, cheeks flooding red once he realized what had happened. 

“Uh…” he alerted them to his consciousness. “Sorry…” he said, sitting up. 

“Nothing to apologize for, Virgil. You have no control over that. Just like Roman can’t control his changes in musculature.” Logan explained. Virgil continued to blush until Roman stood and broke the silence. 

“HEY! And height! Dont forget that!” 

“Uh, Roman? I’m pretty sure I win on the height thing.” Virgil pointed out with a nervous chuckle. Patton began giggling.

 “Yeah, Roman. I don’t think you can argue with that one.” Roman crossed his arms and stamped his foot. 

“Alright Hot Topic. Stand up.” Virgil laughed and indulged his request. “See! I’m still the tallest!” Roman exclaimed.

“Oh you meant tallest normally? Why didn’t you say so?” Virgil chuckled and pulled off his hood. For once, he stood up straight. With his large hoodie hiding his body, they never realized how much he slouched. Virgil raised himself up to his full height and there was no denying… Virgil was nearly two inches taller than Roman.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Too Good To Be Bad](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17155925) by [LemonYellow406](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LemonYellow406/pseuds/LemonYellow406)




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